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Being new to off roading, thought it would be a good idea to take some classes on safe and effective ways to recover a vehicle if it is stuck. 2 days, about 11 hours, and learned a lot! Had a blast doing it too. Instructor took his Range Rover out, purposely got it stuck, then the 5 students had to come up with the plan to get it out. We had 4 scenarios he got stuck in, so used all sorts of different methods, and learned the winch is the last resort. Never heard of a pull pal, but that thing is awesome! If you have no tree to hook the winch too, this worked really well. Used as Hi Lift jack, some traction mats, rocks, and the winch and a block pulley once to get the extra power, although we could have just used a winch alone. Mainly wanted to see it in action. The instructor is I4WDTA (International 4 Wheel Drive Trainers Association certified, really knew his stuff! Been doing it for a long time, and comes from a family owned recovery business. Anyway, here are a few pics of his truck stuck, and us getting gear ready to get it out. A couple tests he wasn't really stuck, but tried and got it in an awkward enough spot to simulate a recovery scenario.
Pull Pal, this thing really bit into the dirt when the winch drew tighter. Hard as a booger to get back out afterwards! Other side was the reverse as far as tires placement. Axles were like an X from the front if you looked at it. First test, used as Hi Lift jack here Joey, the trainer, first test still. Used a winch to get past the first area here, and then this mud was slick! Took about 4 tries to power over the hill and get out. Lost both traction mats in the mud on the other side, they were buried! Joey will get them later on he said.
Quick shot of all our vehicles, before we went off to work! We had 6 total, 5 student and the instructor. We took 3 vehicles so as not to block a trail while we worked on getting his unstuck. The ones that went had winches, just in case. Some areas were a little hairy, but all made it thru! Joey went over each vehicle for about 15 minutes, pointing out various items we had installed, such as good tow hooks, vs bad ones (nobody had bad ones), areas to be mindful off, such as shock mounts. Each pint in a different direction, so reversing you need to be careful if you are in a rocky area not to snag a rock on one.
Nice. I loved HMMVV classes in the Marines. We would take the trucks out and try to get them stuck, which isn't easy. Then we had to dig them out or figure out how to get them unstuck. I got one stuck so bad in such soupy mud, I couldn't even open the doors. Had to have a tank pull us out. Learned a lot about ****** block. It was nice to do with a vehicle I didn't have to pay to fix.
How well did that Pull Pal work? I saw them used on Top Gear once, but never in person.
That Pull Pal worked great. We sunk it in some mud at the top of a pit, so it was into the dry area once it sunk in. It barely stood up it was so little inserted into the dirt (harder to get sunk in, harder than it looks!). Used a rock to hold it up actually, lol. The winch then proceeded to sink it right in, no problem. Pulled the truck right out after that! It was actually that same mud pit in the picture, just a few inches below the dry dirt. He said they work great in sand too. If you only have dry dirt around, you can use a shovel if you have one to dig a little pit out and let the winch sink it in when you take the slack out. I'm definitely getting one, several areas I go mudding in where there are no close trees to use (once I get a winch).
RobTX, you're in the Dallas Fort Worth area, right? Great write up and great photos! Where was the training and how much did it cost, if you don't mind sharing? And can you provide his contact info? I'm assuming he provided a checklist of minimum equipment a newbie should get? Looking forward to see which winch you get and how/where you mount it.
RobTX, you're in the Dallas Fort Worth area, right? Great write up and great photos! Where was the training and how much did it cost, if you don't mind sharing? And can you provide his contact info? I'm assuming he provided a checklist of minimum equipment a newbie should get? Looking forward to see which winch you get and how/where you mount it.
Yes sir, in Keller! The class was in Bridgeport, at the Northwest OHV park. Joey Pitts did the training, click here to get to his website. The class was $375 I think, and $100 for a passenger. Later on my wife and I are going to take some private off road lessons with him, probably a half day class. I want to get a winch first, since I am not lifted and only have 32 inch tires, several rocky and super muddy areas there!
He does ask a few questions, like what vehicle you have, tire size, lifted, what experience I think also.
I decided to get the Fab 4 winch tray, undecided on the winch still, but probably a Warn 9500 or 10K rated one. Minimum 9500 though.
Some people had pretty much everything you could think of for gear, others, like me had straps, shackles, tires, lol. I also got a Hi Lift jack, in case I needed to use it as a winch. It can do a lot of stuff! Later I'll also be getting the Pull Pal, mud mats he had, but need to get what brand (I think Boar was the name for some reason), and a soft shackle and a rope, maybe a good kinetic rope, but they are $$$.
Finally uplaoded all the pic's, not much really, and the best I think are here, but here is the whole stash, and a video on Youtube I took of Ben, they guy I was riding with.
If you ever wanna hit up the park, let me know. I've been 5 times now, and it is different each time, mother nature really changes stuff up there. They have easy to 5 star difficult trails, so anyone can go have fun. I've seen plenty of stockish looking Subaru's, to totally decked out, off road use only Jeep's, UTv's, anything you can imagine. Sunday mornings are usually quieter as far as number of people. This past weekend they had a Night Ride, so opened Friday night to Sunday Night, plus a motocross race, so it was fairly busy, but not so much that it sucked..
One really cool thing I learned was how to make the loop in a rope to use it for connecting a shackle too. Say that your rope had to get the end cut off. There is a tool called a FID, if I recall, and you can make 2 types of knots to secure the hook. Brummel splice, or Brummel lock splice.It was pretty crazy how easy it was, but the steps have to be followed exactly. practice makes perfect, lol. Once it is set, that loop aint going anywhere!
Thanks for all of the info, looks like a ton of fun! I keep reading about everyone recommending taking recovery courses so it's nice to know there's an option not too far away, thanks again!
05-06-2019, 09:51 PM
Went to an Off Road Recovery class
